Spouts



May 29, 1956 B. M. MERCER SPOUTS Filed May 25, 1953 HTTORNEY United States Patent O SPOUTS B'ertM. Mercer, NewYork, N. Y.

ApplicationMay 25, 1953, Serial,No.-35.7,2{51A 6 Claims. (Clt 222-81) This invention relates to, spoutsV for pasteboard. boxes and the` like and comprises ay device by which. the? box is puncturedV for creating a discharge opening which. is closed by the spout except at suchv times. as it is desired to,I pour contents from the box.

An object. of the invention is to provide an` improved sturdy and rigid construction of spout which is simple in construction and readily understood by the prospective user both. as tomanner. of insertion anduse and removal for. re-use.

In its broad aspects, the invention contemplates an irnproved spout having inherentpiercing and cutting mechanisrn. for creating the precise size of opening necessary for insertion` of the spout and which. can beI applied to tightly tthe hole which it' makes and yetv removable in its entirety, when desired, for use in ai differentr box` A more specific object of the invention` is to provide a. novel spout which` may be rocked into its posit-ion? of useand which will: obtain tight contactf with the wall. of the box in which; it is inserted and' which will confine the pouring of the box contents to theY channel provided within the spout itself.

Another object of the invention is to provide a spout of economical character which occupies minimum space Within the' box and whichl will afford full controli of. the discharge of= thecontents and only permit discharge of the contents when the box in which it isf used is tilted.

Another object of the invention is to provide aspout which willv remain securely closed untilmanually opened andi a; spout which will remain securely located inf posi;- tion of application as long as it is needed,. and yet easy tol remove forV further use subsequently int another box.

Yet, another object is to' provide a construction which may be= formed from at blanks and' made up of a mini-.- mum number of' easily assembled parts.

@ther objects o the' invention will appear to` persons skilled in the art to which` it` appertains as the description proceeds, both by direct recitation thereof and` by implication from the context.

Referring. tof the accompanying` drawing., in which like numerals of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several' views:

Figure 1l is a front elevation of the` spout inits closed condition;-

Figure 2' is a vertical sectional view` on line1 2`-'21` of Fig. 1;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view on line 3-3 of Fig. l;

Figure 4 is a. vertical sectional View similar to Fig. 2 showing the spout in open condition ready for pouring contents from t-hebox;

Figure 5 is a sectional view of the spout in the process ofi being inserted in the' box, showing the spout being rocked to assume its nal position; and` Figures 6 and 7 are perspective views of: the spout looking at the same from opposite directions.

In the specific embodiment of the invention illustrated 2,747,771 Patented May 29 1956 in said,` drawing reference' numeral- 10 indicates. a box or cartonin general, havinga sidewall 11 through. which theA spout' is insertedby punching its own opening; and 112. designates the top wallV of the boxor carton. l-t will beappreciatedy that theuser has the latitude of choice as to where to insert they spout, and the particular location indicated inthe drawing, while being preferable. isr not tof be. understood as an invariable requirement. Thel device.isconstructed from sheet metalV of appropriate rigidity such` that its, body portion 1'3, formed as a channel, may be forced through the pasteboard of. a box or'carton and cut its own opening. The channel formation is preferably constructed with avpointedV nose 14.I terminating they inner enclV of the bottomk thereof and the. inner ends of the side walls15 of said'- channel= formationv slope upwardly rearward, and consequently as the channel` is pushed into the carton, the sloping edges progressively slit the pasteboard, formingl a tab which it forces: inwardly of the box and which it swings upwardly toward the topof the box.

The bottomwall of the channel formation isy provided with a discharge openingV which extends for the full distance betweenthe' sidey walls of thebody and also' extendsbetfween the rear endof. the nose 14l to'an end piece 1'6 atthe far end of the opening. Said' end-y piece inte?- grallyconnectsl the margins of the side walls` next'. to` the ends thereof rearward from the' nose; This end1 or crosspiece 16, inl use, is'bent so as. to' provide a stop.: or ledge 1&7' substantially in the` plane of the bottom wall. of the body portion tot limit inward swingi of the lid 1'8 hereinafter referred` to, and' to alsoprovide: a frame section 119: to` extend acrossy the' face of the wall 11 offthei carton at the: top` of the' punctured hole when' the device is in place'. This frame' section may be doubled' back upon itself, so that its free edge is directed toward the opening. At the rear of the: frame section 16: the metal is bent. at right angles forming a shoulder' 19a: toy the upper endl of aforo-mentioned ledge 17. The lower end of the ledge 17 toward the opening is preferably bent inwardly and provides a lip 21)' adapted to engage the tab` 211 of the box material which is'forced inwardly when the4 open'- ingis cut by the walls of the channel member. Normallly, however, the tab will be engaged at itsI margin by the edges of they sidewalls ofthe channel member and will be bent upwardly out ofthe way as clearly" shownl in Figure's 2 and 4, the lip being provided as a safety measure in the event it should be needed by the' tabs forcingr its way between the said' side walls of the channel. member.

The rear end' of the nose 14 next to` the opening in the bottom wall is curled or otherwise formed' to provide a hinge stock 22, the same cooperatingl with. aligned hinge stock 23' on the-aforementioned lid 18 and receiving a pin 24' for hinging the' lid: at the rear' end" of. said nose. The' lid' has a body portion which will fully close the opening and extends further' than the opening so as 'to engagel the 'aforo-mentioned stop or ledge 17 when tl`1e lid is closed, and at that edge of the lid, the same is offset at 25' and provided withA anY extending finger-piece 26". A detaining knob 27' isr bent up from the offset 25` to snap under the edge of the front part of frame section 19" so as' to retain. the lid closed until the user exerts positive force upon the iinger-piece to swing. the lid down. It is preferable to provide an ear 28 at the hinged end of the lid, said ear projecting outwardly with a face thereof inthe path of outward movement of the li'd so it will limit the swing permitted' for the lid, as shown in Fig. 4, the parts being so proportioned that the li'dwill lslope outwardly upward in its most' open position and thus require' that" the package be tilted before the contents of the package' will discharge from the opening of the swung lid. Said lid has side anges 29 which swing in flatwise engagement against the side walls of the channel member and consequently form a chute for the contents of the box to ow through when the box is tilted and the lid is open.

The forward ends of the side walls of the channel member are preferably, in general, perpendicular to the bottom wall of the channel and `are provided with teeth 30, of the nature of saw-teeth, so that when the device is inserted in place in ya carton, the said teeth will grip against the bent tab of the box and will resist any tendency of the device to move outwardly from the puncture or hole. In order to supplement the retaining characteristic of the saw-tooth edge of the end edges of the side walls of the channel member, lugs 31 may be stamped outwardly from said side walls in position to engage behind the side margins of the puncture or hole punched in the box.

Upon applying the device to a box, the pointed nose 14 is punched through the side wall 11 of the box and continued pressure moving the device longitudinally inward will sever the box material crosswise under the entire nose and then the end edges of the side walls of the channel member begin to cut the box wall upwardly from the transverse cut and the intervening tab is bent upwardly by engagement with said side walls of the channel member. The device is forced inward substantially as far as the line of hinging at the rear end of the nose whereupon the device is rocked upwardly to bring the frame member 16 upwardly against the side of the box being pierced toward the top of the puncture or hole therein. In this connection it may be stated that the maximum perpendicular height of the side walls of the channel member are shown approximately equal to the distance of the hinge stocks 23 to the shoulder 19a and likewise that the toothed perpendicular end edge is substantially in the plane of said shoulder so that the hole punched by the said side walls will be substantially equal in area to that required to receive the shoulder and teeth therein when the device is rocked to its upright position.

As a further refinement, the device may be provided with outwardly extending flanges 32 integral with the channel member and extending outwardly from the lid opening so as to overlie the margin of the hole cut in the box. These anges, in conjunction with the hinge stocks at the bottom and the frame section 19 at the top constitute a complete frame for the punched hole in the box or carton.

It is further to be noted that the nose 14 is of a grill construction, leaving apertures 33 therein through which the powder or flake contents of the box may pass while the device is being swung to its vertical position and thus avoid having the contents of the box interfere with proper placing or positioning of the nose flatwise against the inside of the box.

If so desired, a stop may be provided next to the line of hinging spaced from the bottom wall of the channel member, this stop being herein illustrated as a nger 34 sliced from the hinge stock 22 intermediate the ends thereof. Said finger will engage the face of the carton wall and act as a stop and rocking pivot when the nose 14 is punched into the box, and with the stop and hinge stocks brought into engagement with the face of the box next to the punctured hole the device may be rocked thereon through the hole to nal position. In such final position, the nose is located against the inside of the box wall below the punctured hole and the upper frame section 19 and flanges 32 are located on the outside of the Wall around the other three sides thereof with the lid 18 adapted to close the opening of the body portion 13 and keep the contents from spilling.

I claim:

l. A spout for puncturing a hole in and detachably remaining in said hole of a carton, comprising a channel body constructed to pierce a wall of a paperboard carton and to be completely inserted into said hole of the carton, and a series of saw-teeth on the rear end of said channel located to make continuous contact with and grip the opposing pasteboard in nal mounted position of said channel body in the carton to prevent displacement of the spout from its inserted position.

2. A spout for puncturing a hole in and detachably remaining in said hole of a carton, comprising a channel body having a substantially planar bottom wall the length whereof provides front and rear portions, said front portion being constructed to pierce a wall of a carton and said rear portion providing a discharge opening therethrough, said bottom wall having a transverse means projecting from the under side thereof at the junction of said front and rear portions and contiguous to said opening and functioning as a stop for limiting longitudinal insertion of said body into a carton thereat and thereby, said body being insertable by cutting its way through the wall of a carton as far as said transverse means with the said rear portion protruding at the outside of said carton, said channel member providing longitudinal side walls cooperating with the forward piercing end of the bottom wall of said channel body to malte a three-sided cut and thereby pierce a hole and produce a flap thereat in front of the side walls of said channel body, and the top edges of said side walls being curved for enabling the channel body to be rocked about said stop means as an axis and thereby introduce the side walls of said rear portion into the hole punched by the front portion of the channel body, said channel side walls terminating with rear edges substantially perpendicular to the plane of the bottom wall, said rear edges of the side walls having teeth engageable with the partially cut and bent-in flap of the carton in final position of the bottom wall of the channel body rocked into juxtaposition atwise against the carton wall.

3. A spout in accordance with claim 2, wherein a transverse lip is provided located between said side walls of the channel body with the edge of said lip on a line intersecting said side walls proximate to said curved edges and to said rear edges of said side walls.

4. A spout in accordance with claim 2, wherein the rear margin of the bottom wall of said channel is bent back upon itself and offset in a direction toward said curved edges for providing a ledge at the rear part of said opening, and a lid hinged at the forward edge of said opening and engageable with said ledge.

5. A spout in accordance with claim 2, wherein the rear margin of the bottom wall of said channel is bent back upon itself and offset in a direction toward said curved edges for providing a ledge at the rear part of said opening, a lid hinged at the forward edge of said opening and engageable with said ledge, and a transverse lip bent from said ledge and located between said side walls of the channel body with the edge of said lip in a line intersecting said side walls proximate both to said curved edges and to said rear edges of said side wall.

6. A spout in accordance with claim 2, wherein the opening is provided with a hinged lid, and said lid provides anges projecting at its sides between and in slidable engagement with said side walls of said channel body, said lid and its flanges in open position constituting a chute for pouring material coming from said carton and guided to said chute by said side walls of the channel body.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS T0 571,852 Bagley Nov. 24, 1896 1,192,464 Sarter July 25, 1916 2,115,033 Mitchell Apr. 26, 1938 2,333,781 Halstead Nov. 9, 1943 2,442,126 Halstead May 25, 1948 lvlAl 

